The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Trump Gets "Hot" for Kennedy Center, RFK Confirmed, Eggflation Rampant | Brady Corbet

Episode Date: February 14, 2025

Jordan Klepper tackles Trump getting "hot" and heavy with the Kennedy Center, the government confirming RFK Jr. as health secretary, and the president fumbling peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine before they even start. Josh Johnson asks New Yorkers how they're dealing with eggflation and tries to get in on the egg grift. Brady Corbet, writer and director of “The Brutalist,” joins to discuss his ten-time Oscar-nominated film. He explains how Trump’s first-term push to “Make Federal Buildings Beautiful Again” inspired the story, the connection between Brutalist architecture and the immigrant experience, and how he pulled it all off using VistaVision and a meager $10 million budget.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. From the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central, it's America's only source for news. This is The Daily Show with your I am Jordan Klepper. We got so much to talk about tonight. Trump gets horny for the performing arts. Russia and Ukraine agreed a couples therapy, and things are finally looking up for the measles. You know, congrats, guys.

So let's get into another installment of the second coming of Donald J. Trump. -♪ I'm gonna come. I'm gonna come. Let's start with the big news from Donald Trump's cabinet. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's nominee for health secretary and guy currently fighting a vulture for his lunch, has been officially confirmed.

Now... I know. I know. They said it couldn't be done. Excuse me. They said it shouldn't be done. But now it has happened. So you can now add employment to the list of things he's tested positive for. But let's move on to a big development

in the war in Ukraine. And remember, during the campaign, Donald Trump made some big promises about how quickly and easily he was going to end that war. If I'm president, I will have that war settled in one day, 24 hours. I would tell Putin, got to settle. I would tell Zelensky, you got to settle.

I would get a settlement in 24 hours, no longer than one day. I can't get it ended as president-elect. I will get it settled before I even become president. Huh. I'm gonna do it back to the future and end this war before it even starts. Go back in time, kiss my mom, maybe have sex with her. What am I talking about? What was I talking about?

So here we are, one month into that first 24 hours, and Donald Trump is finally ready to negotiate. But it's gonna be tough, which is why he started out with a quick warm-up negotiation first, an old-fashioned prisoner swap with Russia. Let's see how it went. But it's gonna be tough, which is why he started out with a quick warm-up negotiation first, an old-fashioned prisoner swap with Russia. Let's see how it went. Russia freed a wrongfully detained American teacher,

Mark Fogle returning to the U.S. after more than three years in Russian captivity, imprisoned for carrying a small amount of medically prescribed marijuana. In exchange, the U.S. releasing Russian cybercrime kingpin Alexander Vinnyk. What? the U.S. releasing Russian cybercrime kingpin Alexander Vinik. What?! You traded a cybercrime kingpin

for public school teacher Mark Fogel? This is like if the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Donchich for public school teacher Mark Fogel. I mean, at least the teacher we got back is the cool teacher. He smokes weed, and he's been to jail. I mean, you know, you know he's showing movies in fourth period.

Also, Americans, stop smoking weed in Russia. If you need to relax, try not being in Russia. Okay, okay, now that Trump got all warmed up, it's time for the main event. This morning, President Trump pledging to meet with Russian President Putin in person after announcing they've agreed to start negotiations immediately to end the war in Ukraine. President Trump saying, quote, I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, energy, artificial intelligence,

the power of the dollar, and various other subjects. Oh, yeah, I'd like to know what those various other subjects were. I mean, it's a tad suspicious. It's like a husband coming back from a Vegas bachelor party saying, yeah, we ate some great food, we saw the sphere, did various other things. Anyway, you should get a prescription for Valtrex.

So Trump has now set the stage for face-to-face negotiations with Putin on the future of Ukraine. But Trump won't be going into this alone. He also has Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, face-to-face negotiations with Putin on the future of Ukraine. But Trump won't be going into this alone. He also has Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a man who does not take no for an answer, according to police reports. So get ready, Putin, because you're about to face

the toughest negotiations of your life. Pete Hegseth, speaking at NATO headquarters during his first trip to Europe, was blunt, saying Ukraine's long-sought membership in NATO isn't realistic. Neither is thinking Ukraine can regain all the territory Russia has seized. We must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.

Measures that will likely be welcomed by Putin, prompting questions about whether Trump is giving up his leverage to negotiate with Russia. Speaking in unusually blunt terms, the German defense minister accusing the Trump administration of making concessions to Putin before these peace negotiations have even begun. Okay. So, before negotiations even start, America gave up the two things Russia most wants? I mean, how do Hakeseth and Trump not know how to negotiate?

Between the two of them, they've been divorced 97 times. I mean, if your opening move is giving away the house, the car, and the kids, best case scenario, you're leaving court with half of a golden retriever. I mean, no one's gonna be happy with that, except for maybe R.F.K. Jr. But I guess there's still plenty of stuff to negotiate. For example, you know, which animal will Zelensky be fed to once the Russians take over?

Probably a lion, but could be a shark, you know? There's room there. Whichever animal it is, it'll probably fall out of a window. Regardless, Trump is not gonna go driving a hard bargain on Ukraine's behalf, and that's fine. But as long as Ukraine is an equal member of this peace process,

they'll get some of what they want. Do you view Ukraine as an equal member of this peace process? Um... It's an interesting question. Oh! Yikes! That's like when my dentist asks if I floss. Oh! It's an interesting question.

I got to go! Okay, so this is not looking good for Ukraine. Imagine not even being invited to your own peace negotiations. It's like if your wife told you she wanted a threesome and then asked what night she'll be away on business. Laughter Have so much fun, sweetie. I'm strong enough for this.

It's okay. I had it coming after Vegas. Now, you might think it's unfair to put Ukraine in this position after they were the ones invaded, but that's not exactly how Trump sees things. I think they have to make peace. Their people are being killed, and I think they have to make peace. I said that was not a good war to go into. Not a good war to go into. Not a good war to go into?

They were invaded. It wasn't their idea. Little advice for the back of Abraham Lincoln's head. Don't get hit by a bullet. Not smart. Look. Here. Clearly, this is going to be a complex negotiation, and it couldn't have come at a worse time for Trump,

because he's also busy with his second job. Last week, he declared himself the chairman of Washington's Kennedy Center for the Arts, the government's premier arts institution. And if you're thinking, wait, Trump is completely unqualified to think about art, don't worry. He brought along an equally unqualified board to help him out.

He was elected by a board that he recently shook up, replacing appointees by Democratic presidents with Trump loyalists. As for the board, it now includes Attorney General Pam Bondi, Second Lady Usha Vance, Chief of Staff Suzy Wiles, Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scamino, Alison Letnick, who's the Commerce Secretary's wife.

Okay, okay. First of all, what's up with this photo? ["The New York Times"] ["The New York Times"] ["The New York Times"] Oh, you need a headshot of Mr. Scavino? Unfortunately, the only picture that exists of him is from when he walked in on his parents bumping uglies.

But, hey, Donald Trump loves arts and entertainment, and you can hear his genuine passion in a phone call he had with the board. I think we're gonna do something very special. It got very wokey, and some people were not happy with it, and some people refused to go, and we're not gonna have that. We're gonna have something that will be very, very exciting,

and we'll do things both physically and in every other way to make the building look even better. I think we're gonna make it hot. We made the presidency hot, so this should be easy. I'm sorry. Hot? Only Trump would look at a building and go, "'Meh, un-*******. Yeah.

Performing arts centers have gotten very wokey. Like that theater that kicked out Lauren Boebert for giving one little tug job. ****ing it over the khaki jack sesh. Not in my America. You heard Trump, though. No more woke theater. Only plays written by straight men like...

What? What? What? What? What? Tennessee Williams? Damn it. So close. Okay, so what will Trump's new role mean for the Kennedy Center?

We at The Daily Show just got our hands on an exclusive look at what we can expect. The Kennedy Center, America's most prestigious home for the highest arts, is about to get hot. Sign up now for an all-new season designed by Chairman Trump. Screw off Twinkle Toes, because all ballet will now be done by Poll's answers. Talk about a nutcracker. And join us for our cinema series featuring every movie where a babe climbs out of a pool. Donald, Nike, and you bet your ass we'll have culture. Better culture. Like Hamilton, but with white people.

A raisin and a sun, but with white people. And Shen Yun, but with white people. Plus we'll award the Mark Twain Prize to Michael Richards. But not for Seinfeld, for his stand-up. And you know why. And next fall, we'll have an evening with Joni Mitchell. Boxing Jake Paul! So come to the hot new Kennedy Center,

where even the building is hot. That's right, we gave it boobs! Not just two, like 20! The Donald Trump Kennedy Center and Casino. We got your culture right here. Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller. We come back. Josh Johnson ruins the most important meal of the day. Don't go away. Applause

Applause Applause Applause Whoo! Welcome back to The Daily Show. Donald Trump campaigned on lowering egg prices, but he's been president for almost 14 years now, and eggs just hit their highest price yet, which raises the question, how are New Yorkers handling the expense?

Josh Johnson hit the streets to find out. Humpty-dumpty. What used to be a wholesome tale about the fragility of the human condition now serves as a stark reminder of the rising cost of these. Today, I'm talking with a group that consumes most of the eggs in the United States, people, to see how they are dealing with egg

flation. Can we afford another tape? Egg flation, is it affecting you right now? I am being affected by it right now because my grandmother up in the Bronx is complaining how eggs is too hot and it's absurd. I might go on an egg strike due to the prices, man. I know that right now they're like eight and up, which is insane. I might have to turn vegan, man. Really? No, I'm just kidding.

Of course you're kidding. Yes. Vegans are a challenge. How many eggs would you say the average person goes through in a week? Can't imagine more than a dozen in a week for one singular person. 18 for me.

I'd go through 18. 18 eggs in a week for one singular person. 18 for me. I go through 18. 18 eggs. That must be nice to afford. I can't afford it. Oh, you just ball it like that. Okay. Abundant mindset. So I feel like with the very little resistance you've had

to the whole like inflation of these eggs, are you like an heir to an egg fortune? Well, we are from Texas. Okay, that makes sense. You're from Texas anyway. They hate when you waste eggs, whether they're from chickens or humans. Yes. Yeah. Is there anything you're backing off of so you can still afford the eggs? We're backing off of liquor.

Oh, okay. Except Don Julio, we're drinking that. What was the last amount that you paid for like a dozen eggs? Like $15. What price do you think you stop eating eggs entirely? If it goes to $20, okay, I would just have to quit eggs entirely. Okay so $20 eggs, that's your stopping point. Means 19 we're still... 19 we're still in the game. Damn, people are willing to go higher than I thought. I smell an opportunity. So if like some guy was selling eggs

and he was selling them for like, you know, maybe even... What do you mean some guy? Like on the side of the road you mean? If I had an egg right here right now, how much are you paying for this guy? This is had an egg right here right now, how much you paying for this guy? This is not an enticing egg situation. These folks clearly didn't understand the value of what I was holding, so I went to a professional who would appreciate the opportunity in front of them. I'm looking to do some business today and I brought a lot of inventory.

What do you got? I brought a lot of inventory. What is that? It's eggs, man. I'm trying to sell you some eggs. I can't take eggs. Look. Do you want to buy anything or? I do, I do.

Great. I do, okay. So I'll take a Nintendo Switch, I'll take two Switches, one MacBook Pro, and give me a bunch of bracelets. And I'll give you like three dozen. Alright, thanks for coming. Look at this, regret, regret. That guy wouldn't know a good deal if he flashed him in a trench coat.

Time to take my product to the high rollers. my role. Hi, how are you doing? I'm fine, how are you? I'm doing well. Good. I'm looking to get something appraised. Okay. So I'm very excited about it.

So usually we're working more with diamonds, gemstones, precious metals. I'll tell you right now, on the street, these are going. The eggs? Yeah. I think an egg, this is at least like four carats. I am going to just kindly ask you to please leave. Okay. I'm going to go because it feels like you pressed a button or something and like somebody's

coming, but I'm missing out. Good luck feels like you pressed a button or something, and like somebody's coming. But I'm missing out. Good luck. Precious metals, precious eggs. No buyers yet, but once work gets around the streets, I'm sure I'll become pretty popular, and the yolk will be on the. Thank you Josh.

When we come back, Brady Corbett will be joining me on the show. Go, go, left. -♪ Woo-hoo! Whoo-hoo! Whoo-hoo! Whoo-hoo! Whoo-hoo! -♪ -♪ -♪ -♪ -♪

-♪ -♪ -♪ Welcome back to The Daily Show. My guest tonight is a writer and director whose film The Brutalist is currently up for 10 Oscar nominations. Please welcome Brady Corbett. -♪ Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop Welcome. Brady, I loved it. I loved The Brutalist.

I really did. I thought it's what a beautiful piece of art. Thank you so much. I'm very grateful for that. Thank you. Here's the thing that also I love. When I start talking to people about The Brutalist, more often than not, people come up to me like, did you know Laszlo Toth, the main character, is not a real person? Like, I mean, I'm not a real person. Here's the thing that also I love. When I start talking to people about the Brutalist, more often than not, people come up to me like, did you know Laszlo Toth, the main character,

is not a real person? Like, there seems to be a confusion. A lot of people think that it's based on a real Brutalist architect. And I can't tell whether that's a compliment for the world-building that you do or just a commentary on American ignorance. -"It's probably a little bit of both."

-"Yeah." -"Yeah, I mean, the character is an amalgamation of a lot of, you know, real historical figures like Marcel Breuer, Mies van der Rohe, Lashley Moholy-Kneudge, and many others. So it should, you know, evoke a real person. I think that's a positive thing." -"Yeah, yeah, when you started creating this story,

what was the night? What was the thing that got you interested? You know, in all seriousness, during Trump's first term, before we had a brief intermezzo... Yeah, you're talking about a billion years ago, way back then? Yeah. He had a mandate that was called, you know, make Federalist buildings beautiful again. Mm-hmm.

He's creative. Yeah. And, you know, it's interesting that 75 years, you know, on, you know, since the term brutalism was coined, it's still so divisive. And it's interesting because, for me, I really feel that post-war psychology and post-war, you know, architecture

are intrinsically linked. And, you know, this film is... That's what it's mostly concerned with. Yeah, well, I mean, you connect it also to the story, like the immigrant experience, right? I mean, one of the most evocative moments is that first shot, which is sort of someone coming forth upon Ellis Island

and the Statue of Liberty, right? How do you tie, for somebody who doesn't, I mean, as experts in brutalist architecture, how would you tie for the layperson how, like, how a brutalist architecture is connected to sort of the immigrant experience and what that says about sort of an American experience? Well, you know, listen, um,

the Bauhaus was shut down by the Nazis in the mid-1930s. It was predominantly central and Eastern European Jewish architects and designers that were studying there. And so, you know, the mid-century design, you know, it mostly came from immigrant architects. And of course, there was a response to a lot of those buildings and those monuments, which was hypercritical. And because the style of architecture was so unfamiliar,

you know, communities wanted it torn down, and they wanted their new neighbors thrown out. Now, it's interesting. This film, there's so many wonderful performances in it. There's a scene that really stuck with me. There's a scene when Adrian Brody gets off the train and he sees his cousin for the first time. And his cousin lets him know that his wife is still alive.

And they embrace. And the whole scene is shot so close. And there's so much physicality between the two of them. They're touching each other's face the whole scene is shot so close, and there's so much physicality between the two of them. They're touching each other's face the whole time. It's so intimate and real and emotional. And frankly, I'd never seen such a physical, intimate scene contextualize something like that. I'm, like, curious, how do you direct something?

Like, was the physicality and the closeness intentional in your direction there? How are you working with actors on something like that? Yeah, I mean, listen, I mean, it's two brilliant performers in that scene, Alessandro Di Vola and Adrian Brody. And the screenplays are very, you know, precise, mostly because they have to be. The film was shot in 33 days,

and because the film was 170 pages long, it wasn't, you know, that much time. And so, you know, that much time. And so, you know, we don't storyboard, mostly because I don't want to adhere too closely to a cartoon, but I want to show up to a space, respond to it, see what, you know, the light is doing, what the performers are doing.

And, you know, I just told them I think it would be extremely moving if the two of you are very, very, very physical and very intimate together. Because, you know, when you see your uncle or your father, you know, the patriarch, when they cry, it's like, you just feel shattered by it because you see it so infrequently. So I just thought to see these two, you know,

men approaching middle age sort of being that, you know, letting their guard down, especially in the late 1940s, because they just can't help themselves because they've missed each other so much. I thought it was quite beautiful. Is it true you didn't audition the actors, most of the actors, for their roles? Yeah, that's true.

You know, I grew up as a performer for years, and I'm sure you've been in this position at some point, you know, in your career, where you're preparing 13 pages of dialogue. They usually give me the one or two line parts. They're like, if you could just sip this Pepsi and say this one line, we'll see if you're right for the role.

Yeah. Well, you know, I you're right for the role. Yeah. Well, you know, I... But the 13, 14 sounds great. But I always think about, you know, dozens and dozens of people's lives that are affected by preparing this material. And usually in the first 15 or 20 seconds they walk in the room,

you know whether or not they're right for the role. So I want to be respectful of everyone's time, and I only ask people to read more material than that if it's really on the role. So I want to be respectful of everyone's time, and I only ask people to read more material than that if it's really on the fly. Like, we're doing a cold reading together. Especially with kids, you know, who, like, you know, kids don't have a prior body of work for you to reference, so, you know, that process is a bit more significant,

but you usually know after a page or two of dialogue, you know, at a maximum. And in general, I just avoid it altogether. We just, you know, make offers to actors we like. Yeah, yeah. Or maybe people you've met for the first time and have sort of a rapport with. Oh, yeah, pal. Absolutely. It happens.

You made this movie. I mean, this movie is up for 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay. Whoo! And rightfully so. It just feels like a film. It's beautiful. You made it for $10 million? Like, I... My understanding is to make a film that people go and see, you have to spend $80 million to make something like that.

But this is a massive, honkin' film for $10 million. Like, what are these other films doing wrong? Oh, I mean, listen, on the one hand, I'd like to just say, it would have been nice to have more money. I don't want anyone to get any ideas, like, oh, well, they did that for $10 million. So let's try for nine on the next one. You know. I think that it's really just due to our collaborators. I mean, my production designer, Judy Becker,

is an iconic designer behind Brokeback Mountain. Carol, I'm not there. My cinematographer, Little Crawly, and I have worked together for over a decade. We have a shorthand. And most scenes are shot in one or two shots. I mean, it's shot like a 1950s melodrama. So it's mostly mediums and masters.

And where you lose time is setting up a shot. It's not shooting a shot. Shooting a shot takes as long as the scene takes, five minutes. So I prefer to schedule things in a way where we're doing one thing very well over and over again, as opposed to 13 things poorly. And, you know, I think that

we had really great partners on this, producerially as well, that just really understood, you know, what the pillars of the film were and where we could compromise and really understood where we couldn't. The film was shot on a large format that was engineered in the 1950s called VistaVision,

which is essentially what it does is, instead of the film being pulled through the gate vertically, it's turned horizontally, so you get more neg area out of regular 35-millimeter stock. And, you know... I nodded like I knew what you were talking about, but I realized that was... I'm sure that'll probably be cut out.

I was like, yeah, I was like, oh, yeah, totally. Totally. Classic 1950s Vistavision. I was surprised when I got here and I was the only guest. I was like assumed I was the second or third guest. And this is why. Do you want to hear more about VistaVision? Tell me more Brady about VistaVision and brutalist architecture. Your poor audience was like expecting Ariana Grande.

We could never book Ariana Grande. It's funny you joke about this and it is true. This movie I will say, I say this. I truly love this film. I hope you have nothing but success at the Academy Awards. On paper, nobody sees this film, right? Sure, yeah. It's three hours and... It's three and a half hours.

Yeah, it's three hours and 35 minutes. There's an intermission in it. It's about brutalist architecture made for under $10 million, right? It's a great pitch. It's a great pitch. It's a great pitch. Shot on VistaVision, inspired by 1950s melodramatic cinema. This up against the latest Marvel movie is a tough pitch.

But I would say what is fascinating is the experience, it feels like such an experience to go to it. We had Francis Ford Coppola on the show, and he talked about his most recent film. And he really wanted to eventize film. He's like, so many people are watching this at home now, and going to see it in the theater,

experiencing the intermission with people at the theater, hearing people talk about it as they're getting popcorn, using the restroom, like, it's changing. It feels different than watching it at home. It feels different than watching just a regular hour-and-a-half Marvel film. Do you think there might be some trend towards things that are a little bit longer,

that intermission might be something that... I mean, listen, it wasn't that long ago. You know, in the 1970s, movies like Midnight Cowboy were commercially viable. And I really hope that we get back to that. Our industry changed for a lot of reasons, partially because of streaming, partially because of COVID, partially because of the strikes, you know?

And I understand why companies are more risk-averse than ever. However, if you look at the crop of nominees this year, you know, they're really radical, strange films. They're strange propositions, which I think should signal for everyone that audiences do want daring, original, provocative films.

And I think it's very... I'm glad you agree. I really... I respect audiences, and I believe that audiences, you know, are really, really clever, and they're more clever than ever because there's so much information out there about how movies are made, and there's an awareness

of the post-production process and visual effects, et cetera. So, you know, they're really savvy, and I think it's important that we treat them with respect. Awesome. Well, couldn't be better said. The Brutalist is in theaters everywhere, trading Corvée. We're gonna take a quick break right back after this. Thank you, guys.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. That's our show for tonight. Now here it is. The Munich Security Conference, which starts tomorrow, is there beer?

Absolutely. And bratwurst? Absolutely. And potato salad? Yes, yes. I want to go to the Hofbrau house in Munich absolutely I studied in Germany as a student that's why I'm asking explore more shows from the Daily Show podcast universe by searching the Daily Show wherever you get your podcasts watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11 10 central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. ["Paramount News Theme"] ["Paramount News Theme"] Paramount Podcasts.